SIXTIES rock band The Zombies had a huge worldwide hit with their debut single, She’s Not There.

Founding member Rod Argent went on to form his own group, Argent, who had a top five hit with Hold Your Head Up, as well as enjoying a solo career and writing well-known TV theme tunes.

Now 70, he’s back with the band that made him famous.

She’s Not There, the first song I ever wrote, was a big hit

Rod Argent

“I grew up in St Albans loving music, but as it was the late 40s and early 50s it was mostly classical.

Then suddenly, much to my parents’ horror, I heard Elvis Presley singing Hound Dog and I was hooked on rock’n’roll – even though I was a chorister at St Albans Cathedral!

I also played the piano, although I only had lessons for a couple of years, from the ages of nine to 11, then I taught myself by ear.

SAT MAG

The new Zombies album, Still Got That Hunger, is out now

“I desperately wanted to be in a rock band and when I was 15 I got together with Colin Blunstone, Hugh Grundy, Paul Atkinson and Paul Arnold – who left before we became successful and was replaced by Chris White – to form the band.

At our first rehearsal, I was supposed to be the lead singer and Colin the guitarist, then I wandered over to this beaten-up old piano in the corner and started playing. Colin raced over and said, ‘That’s fantastic – you’ve got to play piano in the band!’

Then about 20 minutes later, I heard Colin singing and he sounded fabulous, so I went, ‘Tell you what, you be the lead singer and I’ll play the piano.’

“We started out doing local gigs but we played more and more, and in 1963 we won a record contract with Decca. She’s Not There, the first song I ever wrote and our first single, was a big hit.

“I never met Elvis, but in 1965 we walked up to his house, where there was no security, knocked on his door and asked, ‘Is Elvis in?’ He wasn’t, but his father said, ‘He loves you guys. Come in and look around.’

We thought he was just being hospitable and didn’t know who the hell we were. But in the 1990s, a DJ told us Elvis had three records of ours on his jukebox, which was amazing to hear.

“There were more hits, but in 1967 we decided to split for financial reasons.

Chris and I were the songwriters, so we were earning good money, but the other guys weren’t doing as well. There was no bad feeling. I went on to form Argent with Russ Ballard before going solo.

“I also played on records by The Who and Andrew Lloyd Webber, and composed TV themes, including those for It’ll Be Alright On The Night and ITV’s coverage of the 1986 World Cup.

“Then at a charity concert in 1999, Colin and I performed together and it felt like only two weeks, rather than over 30 years, had passed. That’s when we decided to do six gigs as The Zombies, just for fun, and that has turned into more than 15 years touring the world as the band’s second incarnation. We’ve got a new album and tour coming up and I still love it.

“I met my wife, Cathy, at a party in 1967. She was a dancer and I thought she had the most beautiful face I’d ever seen. We have two children – Mark, 40, and Elesa, 41 – and we’re as happy now as we were when we first got married.”

The new Zombies album, Still Got That Hunger, is out now. The band tour the UK from December 10. Visit thezombies.net to find out more.